STUDYING THE ENERGY REQUIREMENTS OF RURAL AREAS USING RENEWABLE RESOURCES

ABSTRACT

According to the statistics, the residents of the rural areas of Afghanistan represent about  70 %  of the country, the issue of rural electricity supply is of particular importance and delicacy, and if special attention is not paid to it, it will result in undesirable and irreparable consequences, because the delay  and procrastination in this important matter will intensify the migration of villagers to the cities and not paying attention to them with the full dimensions and effects of electrifying the countryside will not only not help the residents of the surrounding countryside, but will gradually turn only the truly productive stratum of the society towards the consumer society. will lead The purpose of rural electricity supply is to increase the possibility of increasing production, improving the economic, livelihood, health and cultural conditions of rural areas, not only creating the possibility of semi-urban life in rural areas and destroying the traditional and local institutions that the villagers like, a deliberate and coordinated study  to choose the most appropriate method to achieve this goal, it is directly the responsibility of the government through relevant ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry of Energy and Water, the Ministry of Public Works, the Department of Forestry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, etc . In this article, an attempt has been made to analyze the energy required in rural areas using renewable resources, and the obtained results were compared with the experiences of developing countries, and finally, a suitable solution was proposed to supply the energy needed in rural areas.

АННОТАЦИЯ

По статистике, жители сельских районов Афганистана составляют около 70 % населения страны, вопрос электроснабжения села имеет особую важность и деликатность, и если ему не уделить особое внимание, это приведет к нежелательным и непоправимым последствиям, ибо промедление и промедление в этом важном деле усилит миграцию селян в города и неуделение им внимания со всеми размерами и последствиями электрификации села не только не поможет жителям окрестной деревни, но постепенно превратит только действительно производительный слой общества в общество потребления. будет вести Целью электроснабжения сельских районов является увеличение возможности увеличения производства, улучшение экономических, жизненных, медицинских и культурных условий сельских районов, не только создание возможности полугородской жизни в сельской местности и разрушение традиционных и местных институтов, которые нравятся сельским жителям, преднамеренное и скоординированное исследование для выбора наиболее подходящего метода для достижения этой цели, за это непосредственно отвечает правительство через соответствующие министерства и ведомства, такие как Министерство развития сельских районов, Министерство энергетики и водных ресурсов, Министерство общественных работ, Департамент лесного хозяйства и Министерство сельского хозяйства и животноводства и т. д. В этой статье была предпринята попытка проанализировать потребность в энергии в сельской местности с использованием возобновляемых ресурсов, и полученные результаты были сопоставлены с опытом развивающихся стран, и, наконец, было предложено подходящее решение для снабжения энергией, необходимой в сельской местности.

Keywords: renewable energy, countryside, electricity transmission, reliability

Ключевые слова: возобновляемая энергетика, сельская местность, передача электроэнергии, надежность.

Introductin

Affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030 is the goal set by the United Nations UN, 2017) One out of eight people in the world do not have access to electricity) [4].  This means that every year 87 million people should have access to electric energy, 80% of these people are located in rural areas [10].  Electric energy is one of the important elements and parameters for economic and social development in a country.  This type of energy is very important for the development of science and technology, which plays a fundamental role in meeting human needs and improving their living standards around the world  [1]. Renewable resources will be the only appropriate option and climate-friendly method to reduce the energy crisis, meet the ever-increasing demand for electricity, and be the key to solving environmental problems caused by fossil resources  [7]. The development and use of renewable resources can not only effectively reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but also provide access to electrical energy in more parts of the world  [13].

Rural electrification is the process of transferring electricity to rural and remote areas; Because the national networks are unable to supply the electricity demand for the villages. In 2017, more than 1 billion people around the world lack household electricity; That is about 14% of the world's population. Electrification usually begins in cities and towns and gradually expands to rural areas, however, this process often faces obstacles in developing countries. Expanding the national grid is expensive, and countries consistently lack the necessary capital to grow their current infrastructure. According to the report of the International Energy Agency, which was reflected in the global energy outlook in 2013, it shows that 1.3 billion people  (one-fifth of the world 's population)  are completely without electricity in the world and 2.6 billion people need to provide cooking In terms of energy, the heating of houses is completely dependent on traditional sources of smoke-producing energy such as wood, coal and animal waste, which carries internal pollution and various diseases, especially respiratory diseases  [11]. A large part of the population  (2.5  billion people)  experience 4-6 hours of power outages every day. Most of the people who suffer from the lack of electricity in the world live in Africa, South Asia, the Middle East and Latin America . The International Energy Agency predicts that by 2030, if a new policy to reduce energy poverty is not introduced, 1.3 billion people in the world  (16 % of the world's population)  in South Asia and Africa will still be deprived of access to electricity. . In the two tables below, the list shows a number of countries where the majority of the population did not have access to electricity until 2011, and also the countries where the majority of the population is deprived of access to modern energy and instead relies on and has access to traditional energy has been [11].

Table 1.

Countries with the largest population of civilians to use of traditional energy sources. (2011)

Table 2.

Countries with the largest population without access to electricity. (2011)

Literature review

The percentage of Afghanistan's population that has access to electricity is at the lowest level in the world compared to other countries. The Ministry of Energy and Water estimates that about 30 percent of Afghans have access to mains electricity, hydroelectricity, or solar panels . Rural areas, where more than 77% of Afghanistan's population live, have virtually no access to grids or other sustainable energy source options. According to some estimates, the access to electricity of the entire rural population of Afghanistan is 9%. In Afghanistan, where the vast majority of the country does not have access to the national grid, renewable energy solutions using small and medium hydropower and solar sources can provide a reliable source of electricity.

Afghanistan has a total production capacity of more than 318 gigawatts of electricity from renewable sources . The total capacity of domestic production from renewable and non-renewable sources in Afghanistan is 737 megawatts  [8]. More than 80 percent of the country's current energy consumption is imported from neighboring countries, in contrast to the import of this amount of electricity, Afghanistan annually imports 280 million dollar pays to these countries. With these rich sources of renewable energy, having suitable geographical features for using these resources and importing electricity from neighboring countries, Afghanistan is the country that has the lowest level of electricity consumption in the world [2].

In the years 1935, the first electricity regulation was formulated , this regulation not only provided a series of conveniences for the customers, but also encouraged foreign investment, as a result, between 1935 and 1951 , a number of ten hydroelectric and diesel generators were built in various locations. It was built in different parts of the country and provided the electricity needed by the new industries in the country. With the completion of the five-year plans , significant progress has been made in Afghanistan's electricity situation in terms of production , transmission , distribution and consumption of electrical energy. But it must be acknowledged that these developments mainly included city centers. The program of electrification of rural areas of Afghanistan did not grow in the agenda due to reasons such as long transportation , scattered people , difficult access , and the possibility of people accessing electricity in rural areas of Afghanistan. All the above factors increase the cost of the electricity supply project up to two or three times in some cases. For this reason, more electricity supply was concentrated in big cities  [12].

According to the statistics of the Ministry of Energy and Water and the directorate of  Da Afghanistan Breshna, the Institute of Hydroelectric Energy Production in Afghanistan shows a forty-fold growth in twelve years with the completion of the five-year plan as shown in the table 3  below. Along with the increase in production, significant changes were also made in electricity transmission and distribution networks . If the length of the transmission network in 1971 was  570 km  and the total length of the distribution network increased to  4312 km. Unfortunately, this increase in the distribution system and transmission system only included big cities. The extension of electricity networks to villages was not done due to inaccessibility, population dispersion, and low demand [12].

Table 3.

Hydroelectric energy production from 1965 to 1977

From 1978 to 2003 unfortunately, the progress of electricity development in Afghanistan had a reverse trend due to the intensification of wars. Even the city of Kabul from 1992 to 2005 It was in complete darkness.

Hydroelectricity is the largest production source. However, thermal production devices also have their share. But due to their high price, efforts are being made to use them less, unless during peak times or absence of electricity supply from neighboring countries is activated. The use of renewable energy sources such as sun and wind is not very popular. Afghanistan is one of the countries where the population density is around 46 people per square kilometer. This spread of penetration makes the cost of rural electrification heavy. According to the statistics of the General Directorate of Statistics and the surveys conducted by the National Solidarity Program of the Ministry of Rural Development, the number of villages in Afghanistan has reached more than 28,000 villages. Insularity and dispersion are one of the reasons and motivations. which hinders the development and access of people to electricity as a contemporary energy is limited  [11].

For the first time in 1935, the rural electrification project was undertaken by the United States of America. This program was so successful that in less than two years in 45 states through 350 cooperatives, 1.5 million people in villages were provided with electricity, which was used not only for lighting but also for agriculture and irrigation. The most resources they employed were water resources, which created an  off-grid system by installing water turbines in different areas [12]. . Later, with the experience of these two years, electricity supply loans were taken, which significantly helped speed up the process. In the same way, other industrialized countries of that time, using the experiences of America, took over the program of electrification of villages. Developing countries, which include African countries, Asian developing countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, etc., as far as was studied, the development of rural electrification in these countries has started since 1990. The process of rural electrification in developing countries includes two stages. In the first stage, most of the countries adjusted their programs in such a way that they were limited only to the provision of electricity for lighting purposes. At this stage, it was mainly limited to the distribution of solar panels [5].

Materials and method

Solar energy production systems are a viable option and a good solution to provide basic lighting to rural families that no longer have the possibility of hydroelectricity or other forms of electricity. This technology can be distributed to families, but as much as possible, a project should meet all the needs of a place. Solar power systems can still be provided for some public institutions (schools, health centers, mosques and social salons) in rural areas. This support can include basic training and use of basic equipment (computer, printer, vaccine refrigerator in a health center). Other applications of solar electricity in public institutions can be used for drinking water pumps and small irrigation [3].

Description of study area

Kapisa is one of the central provinces of the country, which shares borders with anjshir province in the north, Parwan province in the west, Kabul province in the south, and Laghman province in the east. The city of Mahmoud Raqi is the center of this province, which is located 65 km north of Kabul. Its area is 121 square kilometers and it is 1500 meters above sea level. This province is located at 69 degrees and 21 minutes east longitude and 35 degrees north latitude .

Figure 1. Location of Kapisa

Designing a small network to provide continuous and reliable energy for the electricity demand of a village  will be very costly [3]. Mainly in researches, reliability in energy supply is considered as a limitation  or as a parameter in the design process of small networks [5,9].  However , in small grids independent of the national grid , the lack of renewable generation will undermine reliability. If in a small network, information about the forecast of reduction of renewable production is done hours in advance , customers will be able to limit their consumption to avoid power outages. In such cases, using the percentage of energy deficiency  ( PES ) Percentage of Energy Shortage compared to demand seems to be a suitable method for assessing availability  (PES ) is defined as the ratio between the energy not delivered and the total energy demand.

Energy deficiency percentage ( PES )= 

Maximum ( PES) the  permission of each customer in the design of a small network will be effective in the electricity cost of the customers. Get the relationship between  PES and  LCOE (Levelized Cost of Electricity) can be done by simulation and customers of a small network can choose their desired  PES. In this research, customers are given the opportunity to choose the amount of daily energy associated with several  PES limit options. This provides the necessary information to design the least expensive small network. The limitations of  PES cannot be fully predicted, but simulations based on weather conditions will provide an estimate of energy shortage distribution throughout the year  [9]. Hence, when all customers choose their respective energy package , it will be possible to design a small network according to the  PES constraints.

The practical implementation of the presented system will require a suitable design. In this design, a smart meter with a cost of less than ten dollars sends warning signals to each of the customers. Controls common electricity.  For each hour of the day and night, a consumption coefficient corresponding to the average common consumption at this time of the day is defined. A coefficient of fixed data can be converted into a parameter of energy deficiency by multiplying by the consumption coefficient. To design the small network according to the energy shortage data , the different  Y and  Z levels given in the table 4  must be set consistently throughout the month, to achieve the expected reliability level of each type of subscriber.

Table  4.

- Designing the energy management algorithm in the small network according to the reliability of customers

Financial parameters and metering cost of electricity  (LCOE)

Due to low demand, rural electrification does not attract the attention of the private sector in investment. Most of the rural residents are poor people and cannot handle the financial affairs of the project , therefore, for the purpose of financing , the experiences gained from other countries are two types: subsidy by the government and loans for electricity supply by banks  (experiences of Nepal and Peru) have experienced low sedation  [11] .

The net current cost represents the total cost of the system during its lifetime minus the scrap value of all equipment. The salvage value of the equipment shows the remaining value of the equipment at the end of the project's life. Also  NPC index  It is also the sum of cash flows in each year during the life of the project.

NPC = salvage value - start-up and maintenance costs + initial cost

LCOE = 

In a small network independent of the national  LCOE  It is equivalent to the minimum selling price of energy, where the cost and income of the small network will be equal. It should be noted that the design of each small network is done according to its  LCOE value.

For this simulation of this model, from  HOMER Pro software has been used.  This software receives all project inputs such as loads, available resources, cost and various technical specifications and by setting all parameters, it enters a wide range of possible designs in the simulation. This software will be able to run from one hour to one minute.

HOMER Pro automatically allocates the amount of energy produced to the loads and stores the excess production in Batterys. If the production and storage is insufficient in a period of time, a part of the load cannot be supplied and it is considered as a lack of energy, and the plans will be ranked according to the criteria of the lowest cost. Then the relationship between the  PES constraint  and the cost of electricity will be obtained by determining the least expensive designs related to different  PES constraints.

Table  5.

Investment and maintenance costs for the solar panel project

Overview of proposed study model

Consisting of 100 families is considered as a hypothetical village that is supplied by a small solar grid independent of the national grid.  In this model, subscribers are classified into three types according to their budget. The most cost-effective small grid designs for a wide range of  PES constraints from  0.1 % to 50 % has been achieved. The correlation coefficient between PES and LCOE was calculated and the PES limits of each type of subscriber were assigned depending on their income level. Finally, the least expensive design for all  PES constraints was identified. Solar energy corresponding to the installed capacity of  31.5kWh for every  15 minutes is assumed as input. Also, the average horizontal radiation  ( GHI ) of the assumed area is equal to  4.98 kWh /m² considered per day. Efficiency of installed solar panels  18.5 % ,  the nominal operating temperature of the solar cell s 47C ⁰ and their heat coefficient is considered to be  -0.390. The selected lead-acid  Battery has a capacity of 1kWh , the efficiency of charge and discharge is 80 % and the life of the project is  10 years. The standard assumption in  HOMER Pro is that the maximum discharge level is equal to  40 %  was determined. The inverter and diode costs are included in the solar cell costs  and the efficiency of both is set at 95%.

It is assumed that in the experimental plan, the consumption of each family is 41kWh per month or (1.36kWh/day). The willingness to pay for electricity services was limited to 5% of the household budget [9]. The relatives of the commoners of the village are classified into three types. It is assumed that type 1 subscribers only have basic needs such as lighting loads, mobile charging and in some cases television or radio. Also, type 2 subscribers have more televisions and lighting loads, and in some cases they have a small production device such as a sewing machine. Type 3 subscribers are subscribers such as important public loads, hospitals and wealthier families who demand a very reliable supply of their loads. 35% of type 1 subscribers, 50% of type 2 subscribers and 15% of type 3 subscribers are assumed (Table 6). Since the majority of energy is consumed by households, a significant portion of consumption occurs in the early morning and early evening. The average monthly temperature in the selected place varies from 15 ^o C to 37 ^o C.

Figure 2. Average daily consumption for a small network with 100 families

Results

The designs that provide the desired load for different PES constraints with the lowest cost are shown in Table 7. The results show that the optimal design is strongly influenced by the PES limitation. A small grid designed for a PES of 0.1% would require more than double the number of batteries and 65% more solar panels compared to the corresponding design with a 15% allowable energy deficit.

Table 6.

Distribution and consumption of customers in the small network

Table 7.

Optimal design of small network for defferent PES value

In some cases, designs with (PES < 15% or PES equal to 30%, 40%, 45%, 50%) a small grid designed with less number of batteries and relatively more solar panels, with a lower cost, have met the demand. This type of combination of solar panels and batteries will cause more energy waste. This network, which is designed to supply 90% of energy demand, produces 6.5% more than the energy consumed. As the PES decreases, the percentage of lost energy increases rapidly. For a PES equal to 1%, the lost energy will be 25%, and for a PES of 0.1%, it will be 55%. This indicates a sharp increase in LCOE in small networks designed to supply the load of the maximum allowable PES of less than 10%. As the PES limit decreases from 50% to 10%, the electricity cost increases almost linearly. It can be stated that if the subscribers accept that the energy supplied by the micro-grid is on average 20% less than their needs, 20% of the electricity cost will be saved.

Figure 3. Determined cost of electricity LCOE and percentage of energy lost depending on the energy shortage PES in the micro

Figure 4. The cost of electricity for each type of subscriber for different PES

The amount of monthly energy costs for all three types of subscribers and assuming their connection to small networks designed for different PES limits calculated in (Table 6). The results show that families' budgets are significantly affected by changes in PES priority. Type 1 subscribers can supply 0.75% kWh per day with a PES equal to or greater than 15%. While type 3 subscribers achieve the highest level of reliability with only 0.1% energy shortage.

Discussion

Based on the research conducted by the author under the title of surveying the energy needs of rural areas using renewable resources, I came to the conclusion that the central electricity authorities should cooperate with the operators of rural electricity networks in the preparation of electricity standards in all dimensions. It can be seen that the rural electricity program is set to a decentralized system, which in some cases has its own shortcomings. Community participation is widely considered as a prerequisite to ensure the balance and stability of infrastructures such as electricity supply in the place.

Diesel generator projects have failed in almost all countries that have rural electrification systems in place, because of maintenance and maintenance problems, fuel supply, non-payment of oil by customers, low generator capacity, overloading, and consecutive breakdowns, the absence of mechanics in the field are all factors that have led to the failure of the diesel generator project in other countries and in Afghanistan [12]. In recent years, the technology of exploiting new energies, including solar panels, has developed significantly and a significant reduction in the consumption price of these producers can be seen, the use of this equipment in a hybrid manner in addition to creating a level of reliability suitable for the cost. imposes less on the system [7]. It is clear that as the number of these manufacturers increases, it will lead to higher reliability, but the cost of the system will increase [12]. More emphasis has been placed on the production of electrical energy from the wind and the sun, and in this research, I tried to provide electricity in a small village consisting of 100 families using solar technology to consume electrical energy and each family's share in the cost of the project. And I examined the percentage of energy shortage in three categories, which is in accordance with the experience of developing countries, the use of solar panels is a suitable option for rural electrification. In most small projects independent of the national rural grid, all customers receive the same level of reliability. The wide difference in the ability of customers to pay reliably is considered to be one of the causes of dissatisfaction and project failure. Before this, several researches have been done on the issue of energy supply in remote areas [11]. He considers it impossible to provide electricity to remote areas through the centralized system and the national electricity grid, he considers the only option that provides electricity to remote areas to be connected to the decentralized system, which in the decentralized system, essential things such as financial matters, support Institutions, ownership, management, local participation, energy management, standards and markets are worthy of attention. Das et al. also compared the performance of two optimization methods. They presented a plan based on solar cells and batteries with a very high degree of reliability to provide energy for a radio transmitter in remote areas.

Conclusion

The result of this research shows that in small networks based on renewable energy, the flexibility of subscribers will have a great impact on their costs. The test scenario shows that when subscribers accept that the energy supplied by the micro-grid is on average 2% less than their needs, 20% of their energy costs will be reduced. Other findings of this research is a sustainable method for designing and operating small village networks. The presented multi-reliability micro-networks will be able to satisfy a wide range of customers at the same time. A realistic scenario shows that making a difference in the energy shortage of residents is a cost-effective solution for rural electrification.

Rural areas close to the main grid can be connected to the main grid in exceptional cases. The possibility of expanding the grid can be investigated, the capacity, voltage drop in the grid and the tariff system are the key considerations planned for distribution.

It is the responsibility of Afghan Breshna Company (Afghanistan Electricity Company) to expand the electricity network in rural areas with pre-approved plans. In cases of strong demand from the local community, especially in areas where Afghanistan Breshna Company does not have a development plan, creating small networks to supply electricity to rural areas is considered a suitable and reliable option for residents.

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